


Eggos Forever

by BlueClue182



Series: February Fluff Challenge [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, February Fluff Challenge, Fluff, Snuggle bunnies, When will I get these kids to stop snuggling so much?, hopefully never.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 13:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13591263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueClue182/pseuds/BlueClue182
Summary: THESE KIDS.Hopper tells El she needs to spend time away from Mike. She agrees, but only because she's immediately considered a loophole--Hop can't get mad at the time he doesn't *know* they're spending together.Prompt: "You're so comfy."





	Eggos Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Happy day five of February Fluff Challenge. This one makes references to a couple of the other stories in this series, but ou don't *have* to read them to enjoy this one.   
> Un-beta'ed.

They said they love each other _once_ and suddenly they were even _more_ inseparable than before. It was nearing the end of winter break, and El didn’t want school to start again. But then she considered all the learning she’d get to start doing again, and she perked up a little. Annoyingly, Hopper sat her down one day to have a little—what did he call it? A casual chat about a serious subject.

“Listen, kid. I got nothing _specific_ against Wheeler. I want you to know that. And honestly, if you were a normal kid, I’d encourage you to go out and make new friends—”

“What’s wrong with my friends?”

“Nothing! They’re all good kids, keeping themselves out of trouble since the lab shut down and all that. Keep to the rules we set, always have you home on time, blah blah…but remember the conversation we had about you and Mike maybe fighting?”

“Yes, Mike and I decided that’s stupid.”

“Well it might be, but it’s also good to have some other friends, just in case. And, even if you never fight a day in your lives, it’s good to have things you like to do away from each other. It’s…healthier.”

“What does Mike have to do with eating vegetables?”

Hopper smiled. “Different healthy.” He reached over and ruffled her hair, now reaching her shoulders. “Healthy in here. To know who you are when he’s not around.”

Eleven chewed her greens thoughtfully. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Hopper looked up from the radio he’d been fiddling with while they talked.

“Okay. Max is teaching me to skateboard. I can spend more time with the other boys. More time with Nancy. Sometimes reading by myself.” El smiled back at the look of relief on Hopper’s face.

“Yeah. Yeah, that works for me.”

But El agreed to his terms partially because there were ways around them. Later that night, she found herself at the door to the Wheeler basement, letting herself in as quietly as possible. She didn’t usually use her powers to break rules, but how else would she get through the house without waking anyone up?

Mike was laying in his bed, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars they’d stuck to his ceiling. He sat up as the door creaked open. She held a finger up to her lips reminding him to stay quiet, then closed and locked the door behind her. Gently, she bent down and placed her sneakers in front of the closet, then made her way over to Mike in his new, bigger bed.

“Hey! Is everything okay?” He moved over to make room for her to climb in under his pile of blankets.

“Yes, of course.” She explained her conversation with Hopper. “But it doesn’t matter. I can come over sometimes even if he doesn’t kn—Mmmm! These are nice.” She cut herself off and fluffed a pillow under her head. Mike smirked at her.

“I don’t know who taught you to be this way.”

“You did.” She said it with a straight face. Sarcasm still eluded her sometimes.

“And I did a great job.” He kissed her forehead. After a few moments of silent staring, Eleven interrupted the silence.

“Mike?”

He was startled out of a thought process even he hadn’t expected—one that landed on him and Eleven, much older, in a well-lit cabin of their own, laying in bed together long after morning was over and skipping their responsibilities to stay home and snuggle. “Yeah, sorry, I was getting used to seeing you in…” His cheeks warmed up and he cut himself off. He pulled her towards him and she rolled over to spoon against him. He nuzzled his face into her hair and whispered into her ear. “You’re so comfy. I could get used to it. That’s all.”

“You’re comfy too.”

“You know, Hopper does have a point though. Don’t get me wrong.” He pulled her tight against him. “I want you around me all the time. And most kids our age get sick of each other. But I think maybe we’re special.”

“Because of love?”

“Yeah, that’s one part. But I’ve never known anybody that makes me…”

She pulled his arms around her and wiggled against him. “I understand.” That was one of his favorite things about her; the times when he couldn’t find the words but somehow, she still knew exactly what he was thinking or at least what he was trying to say.

“I just think it’ll be really nice when we can be together all the time.”

“Me too.” She didn’t understand embarrassment any more than she understood sarcasm and Mike was grateful for it for once.

“Do you…think you can stay for a bit?” He whispered into her hair.

“Yes, of course!”

“Cool.” Mike pulled the blankets up over their shoulders.

El spoke up again. “How long until we can be together all the time?”

“We have to wait until at least after high school.”

“Why?”

“Remember how we talked about how old you have to be to know if you’re in love?”

“Yes, and we realized age doesn’t really matter.”

“Right, well, for being together all the time, it matters.  Adults who live together have to pay for all the stuff we use every day—from the house, to the water and electricity, and they pay the doctor when we get sick and that kind of stuff. And to do that, they need a job that pays money. And kids like you and me can’t _have_ a job, or at least not one that pays enough for all that stuff.”

“Oh. So it’s not really about you or me.”

“Yeah.” The silence settled between them again. Eleven traced shapes on the backs of Mike’s hands.

“Mike? What do you think it would be like, being together all the time?”

“We’d probably live in an apartment, at least to start. Maybe with another roommate but maybe not.” He considered the idea a little further. “We can get our own La-Z-Boy and TV, and a toaster oven just for Eggos.”

“Mmmm.” Eleven hummed at the prospect, and Mike laughed a little, rubbing her arm.

“Maybe I’ll go to college, but it doesn’t matter where. Maybe somewhere I can take all kinds of classes, maybe somewhere I can focus on science—I haven’t decided yet. And you can go to college, too, but you don’t have to. It all depends on what you decide.” He grinned despite himself at the next thought. “But the important parts are you and me, falling asleep and waking up together, all comfy in bed. We’d watch the snow in the winter and go outside for barbeques in the summer, and we could have the party over for game nights. And we can sit around in our pajamas all day on the weekends—”

“—and eat Eggos whenever we want.”

“Yes. We can eat Eggos whenever we want.” El sighed.

“I wish high school was over already.”

“I know. But there’s good stuff coming before then too. We’ve got all this time to plan what life will be like then. We’ve got time to figure out stuff like college and what kind of jobs we need, and where we’ll look for a place to live. And before that, even, if you thought the Snow Ball was cool, wait ‘til you see what prom is like!”

“Prom?”

“Prom is high school Snow Ball. You go once your junior year and then again when you’re a senior, and the school usually throws an after-prom, too. And the girls get really dressed up in these big poufy dresses and the guys wear suits and…well anyway you’ll see when we go.”

Eleven whined. “Why do we have to wait for all the cool stuff?”

Mike squeezed her again. “Not _all_ the cool stuff! How long can you get away with staying?” She rolled over to face him and giggled as he scrunched his nose in her face.

“Just a little shorter than forever.”


End file.
